4 Medical Sales Skills You Can Learn During Your Summer Camping Trip

With summer comes sunshine, warm weather, clear skies — and for some of us — a long-awaited camping trip.

As it turns out, gathering around the campfire with friends and family and exploring the great outdoors can do wonders for your health.

In fact, a 2014 study published in Ecopsychology found that nature walks reduced the negative effects of stress. And with less stress, we are better equipped to open our minds to learn and further develop skills. Two birds, one stone.

So, here are four skills you use to camp that can also be applied to your medical sales career:

Beating the Sun

You spent the morning hiking for miles. As the shadows get longer, you finally find that perfect spot in the woods you want to call home for a few nights.

Before you left, you mapped out your hike and estimated the amount of time it would take for you to reach the campsite, giving you a few more hours of sun to set up.

Time management skills are a must-have. The ability to have the foresight and plan ahead helps you thrive in your medical sales career.

You’re likely managing several client accounts while striving to make more sales. You need to be able to consider all the tasks in your schedule and adjust your short- and long-term strategies to properly manage each day.

These time management skills also help you find a healthy work-life balance. Without them, you’ll feel rushed, busy, and eventually burnt out.

Building Your Fire

Your ability to build and maintain a fire is vital to your whole camping experience. Not only do you need it for light and warmth in the evening, but also you need it to cook.

As you look for kindling, pile your wood, and continue to feed your fire throughout the night, you’re learning creative problem-solving. You’re forced to be even more creative if you experience bad weather.

Similarly, when you work in medical sales, you face all kinds of issues that can put out your fire. But you need to think on your feet and find unique solutions quickly for your clients.

So, when a presentation goes awry, a client changes their mind, or controversies arise in national headlines, creativity is everything. Exercise your creativity out of the office as well, like learning to play piano or paint, so you keep your creative juices flowing.

Leading Group Activities

During your camping trip, you’ll likely be organizing and participating in fun activities with a group. Whether it’s hiking, rock climbing, or just rowing a canoe on a lake, you’re acting as a leader.

You have to delegate tasks to others, give feedback, and answer questions along the way. These are leadership skills that are great to have in medical sales.

Plus, employers value seeing these skills in their candidates and employees. A 2018 LinkedIn report found that talent developers, people managers, and executives agreed the most important skill employees should learn in their development programs is leadership.

Working With a Team

Embarking on a camping adventure is much more fun with a group of people. In fact, without anyone else, it’s difficult to gather firewood or set up your tent.

You typically work alongside your fellow happy campers to cook food, maintain a fire, and share campfire stories. You get to work together with others and thrive in a team environment during your camping adventure. The same goes for medical sales.

As a medical sales rep, you collaborate with management and work closely with others to drive sales and build client relationships. When you work well with others, you’re better prepared to build a successful, sustainable medical sales career.

What other medical sales skills can you build during your summer camping trip? Share in the comments!